Murray. If Nadal were still in the mix, I doubt he'd have a slam right now.

Either Nadal would beat him in the US open semi-final, or Murray would beat Nadal, but kill himself in the process, leaving him easy meat for Djokovic in the final. Or he'd face Nadal in the final and choke.

Murray. If Nadal were still in the mix, I doubt he'd have a slam right now.

Either Nadal would beat him in the US open semi-final, or Murray would beat Nadal, but kill himself in the process, leaving him easy meat for Djokovic in the final. Or he'd face Nadal in the final and choke.

or it could have been like shanghai or Tokyo where Murray barely broke sweat in beating Nadal, therefore would have been an easier opponent than Berdych..

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Djokovic2011 on Nadal at RG :"Peak Graf would've given him a good run for his money".

or it could have been like shanghai or Tokyo where Murray barely broke sweat in beating Nadal, therefore would have been an easier opponent than Berdych..

Get real. Tokyo and Shanghai are not the latter stages of a slam. Nadal in the semis of a slam is not going to get crushed by Murray. The only way Murray gets an easy victory is if Nadal is injured. Otherwise, it's a minimum of 4 sets, probably 5.

Get real. Tokyo and Shanghai are not the latter stages of a slam. Nadal in the semis of a slam is not going to get crushed by Murray. The only way Murray gets an easy victory is if Nadal is injured. Otherwise, it's a minimum of 4 sets, probably 5.

Need I mention US 2008 and AO 2010? (and no, I don't buy that Nadal's injury was bad enough to cause him to lose - he was flat out beaten and chose to withdrew. It worked, he kept Murray as a lapdog for a little longer)

Need I mention US 2008 and AO 2010? (and no, I don't buy that Nadal's injury was bad enough to cause him to lose - he was flat out beaten and chose to withdrew. It worked, he kept Murray as a lapdog for a little longer)

US Open 2008 was a tough 4 setter (and I said it'd be a minimum of 4 sets), and, and you can be as skeptical as you like about Nadal's injury in the AO 2010, but the fact is, it goes down as a loss due to retirement because of injury. Nadal is a champion. He generally takes his beatings like a man. If he can't continue, then he's injured.

So you've got no point. A fully fit Nadal would either beat Muzza in the US Open semi, or take him to 4 or 5 tough sets in a loss.

Ferrer obviously has had the advantage of being seeded #4, giving him a great chance of getting to the semis, and boosting his ranking points.

In theory, Djokovic and Federer should have equal advantage, as one of them has been getting a theoretically clear run to the finals, so fresher for the final, plus more points assured - except only really Djokovic has taken full advantage of that.

All players who may have faced Nadal will probably have faced an easier competitor instead, and Murray was more likely to meet Nadal than most players, but he still had to (theoretically) go through Federer and Djokovic to win a title, which isn't much different to what he had to do when Nadal was around.

Murray. If Nadal were still in the mix, I doubt he'd have a slam right now.

Either Nadal would beat him in the US open semi-final, or Murray would beat Nadal, but kill himself in the process, leaving him easy meat for Djokovic in the final. Or he'd face Nadal in the final and choke.

Murray. If Nadal were still in the mix, I doubt he'd have a slam right now.

Either Nadal would beat him in the US open semi-final, or Murray would beat Nadal, but kill himself in the process, leaving him easy meat for Djokovic in the final. Or he'd face Nadal in the final and choke.

Yep - that's definitely what would happen. Or maybe Nadal would lose to Rosol?

I guess we'll never know with any certainty what would have happened.

The only facts we have to go on are that Murray hasn't choked in the last 4 big finals he's played in and that Nadal and Murray are 2:2 in hardcourt slams.

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There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary - and those who don't.

I'd agree, generally. He now gets his own quarter of the draw and can avoid playing Fed, Murray, or Djoker until the SFs - basically he has a much, much better chance at making Slam SFs, which he promptly took advantage of at the USO and AO (with thanks to Almagro).